Alternative Leg Training Routine

There is such a wide range of training routines out there. Sometimes I like to come up with my own every now and again to see if I think a certain theory is true.

My current goal is to increase my Front Squat strength. I have been back to the gym for 7 weeks. I am up to 195lbs for 8 reps. My goal is a certain weight at a certain number of reps each week.

My theory is increasing my strength by having it as my third exercise. Doing my weight and reps that I want when I am tired for 3 weeks and then starting with the Front Squat my 4th week. For example, I am going to try 215lbs for 8 next week. THEN, I try and hit it again the next week as my third exercise. I know I can do 5-3-1 and West Side and things like that to gain strength, but I wanted to try my own thing out.

First 3 weeks: Leg Press 4 sets of 6-30 reps, 3 sets of barbell hacksquats 8-10 reps, then 5 sets up front squats pyramiding up and then down. Then Leg ext or Lunges for 2 sets of high reps. I try and increase by 10lbs a week. I know I am probably getting newbie gains because I hadn't been in the gym 5 months. So it will be interesting after I cycle through this program what kind of gains I make when I try it again. Obviously not 10lbs a week but I would expect 10-20 lb increase each 4 week period training this way even after newbie gains go away.

Make sense? haha I will post in this again next week and the week after to see if my theory still holds up. It has so far.

Just a quick question...
It seems the exercises you listed are more geared towards front leg/quad push, than some good heavier ham and glute work!?
Just wondering if you were doing some focus too on the "backs of the legs" ie: post chain work as well, that I might of missed???

Linear strength gain increases are short lived and generally only seen by inexperienced trainees. It is especially foolish to expect these strength increases to continue when it is not the first movement performed and the routine has little variation. In your situation, you're not building strength; you're merely testing it. There's a very, very big difference in the two.

Linear strength gain increases are short lived and generally only seen by inexperienced trainees. It is especially foolish to expect these strength increases to continue when it is not the first movement performed and the routine has little variation. In your situation, you're not building strength; you're merely testing it. There's a very, very big difference in the two.

Ahhh linear progression... back when things were simple. Those were the days.

Yeah I realize I forgot to post that it's my quads monday and I finish them off with either good mornings or Romanian deadlifts and on Friday I do Deadlifts and hamstrings to complete the training. Sorry about that. haha

I wasn't expecting huge increases to continue. That's why I thought it would be interesting to put it forth after I have been back a few months. I thought I was building strength by striving to hit my reps while tired. My variations come into play depending on how I feel. For three weeks in a row the exercise order is the same, but the reps and the weights never stay the same. I thought in the future it could be a good type of plateau buster by working close to max weight when tired and then using the 4th week to break through that prior plateau. Is that not sound? I figured trying it while you were tired and then hitting it fresh after a couple of weeks would allow you to do more than before.

Like I said, I don't expect weekly increases of 10lbs. I have lifted long enough to know that I would have hit my goals by now if that were the case haha. I do believe when the gains slow that that could be a feasible way to add 10lbs of strength in a month.

My theory is increasing my strength by having it as my third exercise. Doing my weight and reps that I want when I am tired for 3 weeks and then starting with the Front Squat my 4th week. For example, I am going to try 215lbs for 8 next week. THEN, I try and hit it again the next week as my third exercise. I know I can do 5-3-1 and West Side and things like that to gain strength, but I wanted to try my own thing out.

so basically you want to try and make progress by fatiguing yourself then performing the movement. then after a few weeks you want to try a PR when you are fresh. well of course you will do better on the 4th week, you will be more fresh. and it may not have anything to do at all with your protocol. to be accurate and use only you as a test you would have to do that program for 6-12 months and then do another one for the same amount of time. and even that wont be that accurate as which one you do first will effect the one you do second.

now IMO what you are saying can work in a manner of speaking. but maybe not in the way you are thinking. for example, there are some powerlifters that will do sets of 50 of an exercise then move on to a max effort movement. for example they will do 50 reps of banded hamstring curls or swiss ball curls then move on to squats.

I wasn't expecting huge increases to continue. That's why I thought it would be interesting to put it forth after I have been back a few months. I thought I was building strength by striving to hit my reps while tired. My variations come into play depending on how I feel. For three weeks in a row the exercise order is the same, but the reps and the weights never stay the same. I thought in the future it could be a good type of plateau buster by working close to max weight when tired and then using the 4th week to break through that prior plateau. Is that not sound? I figured trying it while you were tired and then hitting it fresh after a couple of weeks would allow you to do more than before.

Like I said, I don't expect weekly increases of 10lbs. I have lifted long enough to know that I would have hit my goals by now if that were the case haha. I do believe when the gains slow that that could be a feasible way to add 10lbs of strength in a month.

It's not sound because you're altering training conditions and not truly gauging your strength. What you're doing is gauging your strength under a specific condition as opposed to making the increase your priority. The keys to gaining strength are technique, specificity, strengthening weaknesses within the kinetic chain, and progression. Nowhere in your plan do you have address any of these areas.

It's not sound because you're altering training conditions and not truly gauging your strength. What you're doing is gauging your strength under a specific condition as opposed to making the increase your priority. The keys to gaining strength are technique, specificity, strengthening weaknesses within the kinetic chain, and progression. Nowhere in your plan do you have address any of these areas.

Thank ya for the reply. As far as specificity, where am I lacking? You are probably right, but maybe I am not understanding what you mean by specificity. I figure doing the movement covers technique, strengthening weaknesses I try and do with Good Mornings and alternating them with SLDL, I also try and strengthen said kinetic chain weaknesses with my deadlifts and hamstring training the following Friday. A lot of glute-ham raises, single leg deadlifts, reverse hyper ext, dumbbell stiff legged deads. And progression I am trying to hit a weekly goal. If I don't, I drop the weight a little and try again.

It sounds as if alterations are in order. I guess I'm not understanding what I'm missing out on, or how I am doing it wrong. Thanks again for your help.

so basically you want to try and make progress by fatiguing yourself then performing the movement. then after a few weeks you want to try a PR when you are fresh. well of course you will do better on the 4th week, you will be more fresh. and it may not have anything to do at all with your protocol. to be accurate and use only you as a test you would have to do that program for 6-12 months and then do another one for the same amount of time. and even that wont be that accurate as which one you do first will effect the one you do second.

now IMO what you are saying can work in a manner of speaking. but maybe not in the way you are thinking. for example, there are some powerlifters that will do sets of 50 of an exercise then move on to a max effort movement. for example they will do 50 reps of banded hamstring curls or swiss ball curls then move on to squats.

Oh yeah I fully expect to make progress when fresh haha. I meant that making greater progress versus starting with variations of Front Squats all the time. I was going to try it again in a few months. I know it wouldn't work the same as it does right now because of the length of time I have been in the gym will be way more substantial by then. I thought maybe doing it would be a good plateau buster, not necessarily a permanent plan to follow.

Thank ya for the reply. As far as specificity, where am I lacking? You are probably right, but maybe I am not understanding what you mean by specificity. I figure doing the movement covers technique, strengthening weaknesses I try and do with Good Mornings and alternating them with SLDL, I also try and strengthen said kinetic chain weaknesses with my deadlifts and hamstring training the following Friday. A lot of glute-ham raises, single leg deadlifts, reverse hyper ext, dumbbell stiff legged deads. And progression I am trying to hit a weekly goal. If I don't, I drop the weight a little and try again.

It sounds as if alterations are in order. I guess I'm not understanding what I'm missing out on, or how I am doing it wrong. Thanks again for your help.

Your program lacks specificity and progression because you're not building the program to address specific needs. Doing the movement itself does not cover technique; that just means you're performing the movement. Your weakness(es) may not be in the kinetic chain and the front squat is not a posterior chain specific lift. Seldom is the movement held back by a weakness in the hams, glutes, or lumbar. The weakness is more likely to be from the core, upper back, and quads. You have to vary up the main movement or the body will hit stagnation and your strength will plateau. There's also a fundamental flaw within your template and that is your focus is on muscles and not movements. If you really want to increase your strength in a given movement, you don't train it only once per week.

Your program lacks specificity and progression because you're not building the program to address specific needs. Doing the movement itself does not cover technique; that just means you're performing the movement. Your weakness(es) may not be in the kinetic chain and the front squat is not a posterior chain specific lift. Seldom is the movement held back by a weakness in the hams, glutes, or lumbar. The weakness is more likely to be from the core, upper back, and quads. You have to vary up the main movement or the body will hit stagnation and your strength will plateau. There's also a fundamental flaw within your template and that is your focus is on muscles and not movements. If you really want to increase your strength in a given movement, you don't train it only once per week.

The more I thought about it, the more I almost answered my own question. Thank you for talking me through that. haha I was solely going on the theory of increasing strength by doing a certain exercise while tired versus looking at the program in its totality. I was simply trying to work on idea without having any real design around it. It wouldn't work for increasing strength on the way it was made up. I work primarily with the front squat because it helps my form on back squats and because I was trying to focus on my quads more with that particular exercise. I figured since it was mostly a quad-centric exercise it would be better choice on my quad day and then using a variety of deads and other exercises on Friday to work the backside.

When you say working on strength more than once a week, are we talking about like a max effort type of day and a dynamic effort type of day? I fully believe Westside and 5-3-1 would be more valuable for increasing strength than my "program" (I use that term very loosely now ). I do know that much. I figured doing quad-centric and posterior chain centric exercises would count as two days of working on my strength.

I know there are better programs than what I thought, I just had a theory and that is now kind of debunked. Maybe it's better for muscle building versus strength building so I am just applying it wrong. I take it it makes more sense as a musculature builder versus a strength builder. Or is this completely off-base as well?

I just didn't want you to think I was training dumb. I understand the other concepts. I just tried to think out of the box and it just didn't work.